TEAM BUILDING

Business vocabulary in use

Prof. Milena Gonzlez
A. TEAMS
In some (but not all) situations, tasks can be achieved more easily by teams with a common purpose, rather than
by individuals. Of course, its important to develop team work through team building so as to get the best from
the team.

B. TEAM PLAYERS
Meredith Belbin has identified these types of team members or team
players:

a) The implementer, who converts the teams plan into something

achievable
b) The co-ordinator, a confident member who sets objectives and defines
team members roles
c) The shaper, who defines issues, shapes ideas and leads the action
d) The plant, a creative and imaginative person who supplies original ideas and solves problems
e) The resource investigator, who communicates with the outside world and explores opportunities
f) The monitor evaluator, who sees all the possibilities, evaluates situations objectively, and sees what is
realistically achievable
g) The teamworker, who builds the team, supports others and reduces conflict
h) The completer, who meets deadlines, corrects mistakes and makes sure nothing is forgotten.

C. STAGES OF TEAM LIFE

The typical team goes through a series of stages:

a) Forming: the group is anxious and feels dependent on a leader; the group tries to discover how it is going to
operate and what the normal ways of working will be
b) Storming: the atmosphere may be one of conflict between members, who may resist control from any one
person; there may be the feeling that the task cannot be achieved
c) Norming: at this stage, members of the group feel closer together and the conflicts are forgotten; members of
the group will start to support each other; there is increasingly the feeling that it is possible to achieve the task
d) Performing: the group is carrying out the task for which it was formed; members feel safe enough to express
differences of opinion in relation to others
e) Mourning: the groups work is finished, and its members begin to have pleasant memories of their activities
and achievements.
ACTIVITIES

1. Look at the types of team members in B opposite and say if these statements are true or false:

a. _____ Implementers are not interested in final results

b. _____ Co-ordinators tend to take a leading, organizing role
c. _____ Shapers tend to follow what other people say
d. _____ Plants can be useful in providing new ideas when the team has run out of steam
e. _____ Some resource investigators might love using the Internet
f. _____ Monitor evaluators are not good at seeing all sides of a problem
g. _____ Teamworkers may help to defuse arguments between members
h. _____ Completers are bad at finishing things on time

2. Members of a team brought together to work on a design project said the following things. Match them to
the stages in C opposite. (There are two sentences relating to each stage).

OVER TO YOU: What teams have you worked in or are you working in? Do you recognize the
types in B opposite in your team? What role do you usually play?